Fractured Memories
by Miss Mahariel
Summary: Post Reaper War AU : Shepard is in a coma aboard the Normandy after the defeat of The Reapers; returning to Earth is the only viable option for Shepard's recovery. Garrus Vakarian and the remaining crew are determined to see that happen, even if it means a prolonged stay on the devastated planet. *Kinda spoiler-ish and thanks be to Bioware for this awesome playground.
1. Part 1

Normally the thrum of the warship's battery the deck below them calmed the turian, but it grated his nerves today. Garrus found himself pacing the narrow hallway outside the Normandy's medbay, he hadn't been able to see her since he and Liara pulled her body from the wreckage of the citadel, three days ago.

He had thought letting her run to the Citadel on her own had been the hardest thing he' ever done. Less than an hour later a beam thrust forth from the centre of the citadel. The failing forms of the reapers were illuminated by its red light; elation and terror gripped Garrus' heart.

They had won.

"You can come in now Garrus,"

Doctor Chakwas had poked her head out from the medical bay doors. Garrus forced himself to walk as calmly as possible while the doctor explained what he was likely to see. He knew the doctor was just telling him standard lines, trying to prepare him for the shock of seeing his lover battered and bruised.

"She's alive, barely, but she's not out of the woods, not by a long shot." Doctor Chakwas paused for a moment, trying to read the turian's intense stare. "We need to get her to an actual hospital, Garrus."

"I know, I know… but how, where?" He sighed. "The relays have been destroyed."

"We'll figure it out after," The doctor placed her hand on the turian's forearm. "Right now, I think there's someone you should see."

As comfortable as Garrus was in the main battery of the ship, with all the _beeps _and _chirrups _that came along with the – almost – soothing_ whirring _of the computers, but he was put off by the cold, repetitive _bleeps_ from the various life-giving machines that were coiled around the _too-still _form that was laid out on the small cot. He nervously glanced over his shoulder, the anti-contaminant suit doctor had him put on itched against his carapace, but at least the doctor had decided to give them some privacy. The bright, sterile lighting of the small icu room didn't offer many spots to direct his gaze at.

Her right leg was still encased in badly fractured armor – probably too risky for the doctors to try and remove it onsite, he surmised. He could count her five toes sticking out of the cast on her left leg – he was glad they seemed to be alright; he found her human feet endlessly amusing. The warmth of the memory left him quickly as his gaze hesitantly swept further up her body; her entire torso was wrapped with thick white bandages – pristine, thanks to Dr. Michel's professionalism. Her arms were individually wrapped but bound tightly to her body; he drew a sharp breath as he realized they were broken in too many places.

Unable to stand the distance any longer he treaded closer to the bed and allowed himself to take in her face; tufts of dark hair stuck out from underneath the bandages that circled her head. Garrus shuddered; both eyes were bandaged as well, but inky bruises spilt from underneath the dressings. His eyes then swept down her splinted nose to the only part of her face not covered in gauze, cracked and bruised lips.

Normally her lips danced with smiles and easy laughter that caused her cheeks to crinkle; other times they elicited titillating kisses along his carapace, but his favourite was when she was deep in sleep, her lips flushed and parted slightly in a soft smile.

He didn't know what to make of them now, cracked and swollen, hanging slack with a respirator fastened to them to help her breathe. He felt himself hesitate before reaching out and touching her prone shoulder, just to reassure himself she was really there.

He felt his heart burst into fire at the warmth of her body through his surgical gloves, and he thanked the spirits again as he brushed her lips softly with his fingers.

He didn't want to meet Shepard at the bar, no; he wanted to take Shepard home.

Where ever that was now.

* * *

Liara nearly pounced on him as he left the medbay. "We have to go back to Earth."

"Why would we go _back_ to earth? There's nothing left there." Garrus shook his head refutably.

"Where would you have us go then, the citadel?" Liara felt bad as she heard the harsh tones she took with her friend, but his emotions could cause them to delay, and Shepard couldn't afford delay. She needed a proper hospital, or at least what was left of one. She couldn't remember if she had told Glyph to notify – her AI drone wasn't around anymore. It seemed with the defeat of the reapers, all synthetic life had been destroyed. Liara wondered how Shepard would feel about that; considering her attachment to EDI and Legion, and her efforts to bring peace between the Quarien and the Geth… but nobody had expected Tali's suicide; nobody had time to recover from it, too much death waiting around the corner.

It was the heavy silence that broke Liara from her thoughts, and she looked up to find Garrus staring at her – through her rather – she closed the distance between them quickly, and grasped his hand in her own, offering reassurance to the turian.

"Dr. T'soni, a military base in the Svalbard Islands has responded to our distress call." Traynor's sombre voice rang out over the intercom.

"Where is that Traynor?" Garrus cleared his throat, finding his voice again.

"It's located on Spitsbergen Island, which is the second largest of the Svalbard islands,"

Garrus forced himself not to cut the comms officer off, as she recited off the latitude, longitude, a brief military history; she was likely just as shaken as the rest of them.

Spitsbergen was located in the Earth's artic, which according to Shepard was _almost_ like Noveria.

"_Less snow, more ice, but not that much ice – global temperature change – it's pretty cold though, you wouldn't like it." _

He remembered Shepard telling him, the edges of her lips quirked up in a crooked grin.

Spirits, he would dive into the frigid depths of its ocean if it meant bringing that woman back.

"Spitsbergen it is."

"Would you like me to inform Joker…?" Traynor's metallic voice asked.

Garrus paused for a moment.

"No, I'll do it."

* * *

He walked slowly up the familiar bridge; he hadn't talked to Joker since recovering Shepard's body from the citadel. They had been floating in outer-space for two days now, enough time to realize you were alone in the galaxy. He and Joker weren't exactly what Garrus would call: friends, but he could sympathize with the pilots' loss. EDI was a great gal - devoted her freedom to helping defeat the reapers.

He paused for a moment at the door to the cockpit, trying to gather his thoughts, but the motion-sensors triggered and the door opened.

He could hardly see the flight-lieutenant behind the command chair, but the muffled sound of sniffling alerted him to the man's presence. Though he doubted the pilot would be anywhere else at the present moment.

The sound stopped as soon as Garrus entered the room, but he still felt awkward, and was still trying to gather his thoughts when the chair swung around to face him.

The man's usually bright eyes were bloodshot and puffy.

"Oh hey Vakarian, I was just watching an old vid, from the… extranet, of a kitten, falling out of a tree, it's kinda' sad because the mama cat is crying out to it, and it can't get down, and then…" Joker trailed off weakly.

"Sounds sad, but I didn't hear anything," the turian raised his hands in a placating gesture. "But I know what it's like to lose a…kitten, and I know we've never really been close but…if you find what's left in the bar not strong enough, I still have some of the good stuff left."

"Shepard said you were a bit awkward but I had no idea…" Jeff paused for a moment, catching the sombre look in the turians usuallyinscrutable eyes. "How do you think EDI would have reacted if she heard you refer to her as feline offspring?"

A spark of the humour that usually laced the pilot's voice had returned.

"She would probably question my cognitive reference skills," Garrus paused for a moment before continuing. "But she would probably ask you why you're watching sad kitten videos after destroying the reapers."

A pained silence stretched between them for a moment while Joker hung his head, his eyes hidden by his hat, but the sadness in his voice was apparent.

"I just miss her, ya know," his shoulders heaved with a sigh. "For a moment I had no idea –"he choked on the memory of seeing her face go blank.

Garrus placed a hand on the pilots shoulder, "I know."

"I used to think you had a pole up your ass." Joker replied, taking a shaky breath.

"Shepard told me."

"She did?" A short bark of laughter escaped the pilot's lips. "Anyhow, I stopped thinking that a while ago Garrus. You're a good man, er, turian."

"Thanks."

"How is she?" Joker asked hesitantly.

"Not dead, but not good," Garrus took a deep breath. "We have to go back to Earth."

"I heard," Joker spun his chair around and pulled up the galaxy map. "We aren't _that _far outside of the Sol System…"

The pilot began to mumble to himself as he became swept up in the various star-charts, maps, finding the quickest route back to the solar system. Garrus watched the holographic planets flash by until Earth was floating in the centre of the screen. Neither of them said anything as Jeff pressed the button to finish mapping their course.

Fifteen seconds later, accompanied by a sharp _bleep; _the course was set and they were an estimated seven and half hours from earth.

"Better get comfy Vakarian."

"You're the one driving," Garrus replied quickly.

"Do you see this chair?" Jeff asked incredulously. "The Alliance spent big bucks making sure this ass would be comfortable." He finished by ceremoniously pointing at his seated behind.

Garrus shook his head. "Looks like they spent the money well, I've never seen an ass look more comfortable than you do, while steering the ship."

"Ha, Shepard never told me you were funny." Jeff stopped himself from taking the dig any further when he saw the despondent look in the turian's eyes.

"We'll get her there Garrus," it was his turn to reassure the turian. "But where exactly on earth are we going anyhow?"

Garrus headed back down to the medbay, to inform Doctor Chakwas of their plan, but Liara had already informed her.

The doctor said he was welcome to spend some of the trip with Shepard, and promised no suit this time, seeing as they had a fully-intact hospital to go, the doctor was less concerned about Shepard contracting any illness – but he still had to wear the mask.

He found her laying there, white cloth wrapped around her like a cocoon, though her arms rested more easily by her side this time. He took the carefully placed seat by her bed and gently grasped her hand in his own. He traced the disjointed fingers, the purple curves that spread from her knuckles in murky silhouettes that hid beneath snowy linen. His heart felt empty looking at the once strong hand that now hung limply in his own, but it filled with warmth as he brushed his thumb over her wrist and felt her pulse - slow but steady.

The doctor said she was in a coma, lost in sanctuary of her innermost self, but he talked to her regardless.

"You did it," he whispered softly, "you destroyed the reapers, they're gone… and you're still with me." He grasped her hand more firmly, "we're going to get you back to earth, get you fixed up and then we can figure it out from there, no rush, it'll take time but I know you'll give em' hell, you always do. Death couldn't hold you back, so this won't either." his subharmonics entangled with reverie as he murmured to her. "I love you, Selena." He hoped for the idyllic grip of her hand upon hearing his voice, but it remained still, but he knew he felt her pulse speed up.

He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep on the small, human-designed chair; he remembered falling asleep, an intriguing blend of exhaustion and contentment at the sound of his lovers' heartbeat. After lying with his head near her chest for a while, he was able to tune out the steady beeping of the ECG and was able to concentrate on the steady, rhythmic sound of her heartbeat; a couple haunted daydreams later and he finally allowed himself to succumb to sleep.

Doctor Michel's bright voice woke him; chastising him for not asking for a secondary cot.

"Or at least a pillow, we don't have any more room in the medbay … for patients." The doctor clucked, turning on her heel, mentioning they would need the commander for a few hours - preparations for the transfer to the base hospital.

He was glad that they had managed to convince Doctor Michel to join them on the Normandy after the attack on The Citadel, he was even gladder he had managed to convince Shepard, after Tali's comments aboard the geth dreadnought. The sharp pull on his heart reminded him that he hadn't had time to grieve for his friend either.

He still couldn't believe what happened on Rannoch. He knew Shepard planned to help the geth, he understood the need, he trusted Legion, well trusted that Shepard trusted Legion. The damned admirals too entrenched in their archaic beliefs. They refused to stand down when Tali asked them, Shepard refused to budge– they needed the geth for the war.

_The red cybernetic webbing began to crack through her skin, which only agitated her more, and Garrus knew she wouldn't fold to the Quarians. _

_But Tali - he knew what it felt like to watch ones species be destroyed, but he never thought Tali'Zorah would take her own life. He didn't even hear it happen, he barely remembered Shepard's agonized shout, or pulling her away from the edge of the rock face. He remembered the dead look in her eyes as she blamed herself, and in the moment, it was hard for him to not agree with her. _

_He knew he couldn't blame her for Tali's choices; the horror etched in her face was evidence enough, she'd lost a friend too. He had to be strong for her, in those rare moments when she cracked, so he held her, midst the smouldering wreckage that fell from the sky. _

"_I'm sorry." she said, un-burying her head from underneath his chin. _

_His mandibles flared with surprise, and he asked her why. With tears in her eyes she told him because they were friends. _

"_But she was your friend too Lena," he brushed a stray tear from her cheek, leaving a trail of clean skin in its wake. _

"_I'm mad at her." The commander's voice took a bitter edge before her lips began to tremble, "I – I'm mad at myself." _

"_I'm worse than a reaper, at least their 'goal' is to preserve organic life," she allowed Garrus to tilt her chin; allowing herself one moment of comfort in those blue orbs before looking away. "And what do I do? Throw a millions of lives away so I could have tireless, merciless machines to fight the other: tireless, merciless machines…" she tried to pull away from the turian, but he didn't loosen his grip. _

"_That's not true, and you know It." he refused to let her look away, his voice sounded tired but the calming thrum of his subharmonics belayed conviction. _

"_She's gone Garrus, I had hoped –"she struggled for a moment, suppressing the tears that threatened to spill; sometimes Garrus wished she would just let them out. _

"_I had hoped we could get them to co-operate, for the sake of the Galaxy," she continued, managing to look him in the eyes again. "They wouldn't listen to reason, not even to their own people…." _

"_Somebody once told me that: "you do the best with they give you," Garrus closed his eyes pressed his forehead against hers._

"Garrus Vakarian, this is no time to be sleeping. We are preparing for our descent to Earth." Javik's crisp voice interrupted him from his thoughts.

Had he fell asleep again? Perhaps he would ask Doctor Chakwas for a sedative once Shepard was all settled in, to get a good night's rest, and hopefully the next time he woke up he wouldn't have the prothean's disconcerting eyes right in his face.

"Right, sorry Javik," Garrus stood up from the bench and offered the prothean what he hoped was his best apologetic look. "If there isn't anything you need me to do, I should probably gather the commanders personal effects…"

Javik ran a finger along the curve of his jaw as he considered the importance of the task.

"If anyone is to do it, it should be you, I do not relish the idea of getting human _sentiment _on me," the prothean dramatically shuddered at the thought.

"Afraid you might get feelings?" Garrus asked, trying his best not to laugh.

"Afraid I might harbour affection over a squishy primitive? I think not turian." Javik turned smartly on his heel and headed toward the elevator. "Don't worry, I will attend to the task of rigging the shuttle for patient transfer, have fun digging through your female's things." He called over his shoulder.

The prothean blinked his four eyes out of sync, which Garrus wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but he thought he saw a trace of a smile on his face.

_Protheans…_

* * *

Garrus opened the door to Shepard's cabin, he didn't know why he was nervous… he had been in here by himself plenty of times, though he had never rifled through her things. He wondered if he was even the right person for the job.

The mournful song of a violin accompanied by thrilling high piano notes filled the room and Garrus smiled to himself, Shepard had left her music on, as usual, and the fact made him strangely happy. Her room was the chaotic mess it usually was and Garrus set to work folding her blanket; a bright, poufy thing with multi-coloured stars painted across it – a birthday gift from Joker, who said she wasn't _girly _enough. Then he packed her footlocker with the most comfortable looking human clothing he could find, and the three books from her shelf that weren't war related. He grabbed her datapad, her slippers, her little basket of toiletries, and the little device she stored her music on. He hoped she wouldn't be upset that he couldn't bring her fish, he just didn't know what to put them in…. they weren't exactly tiny.

He felt the ship begin its descent toward the planet and he allowed himself one last search of the cabin. He checked the small drawer beside her bed and was surprised to find the journal he had given her two years ago nestled between some loose papers. He picked it up and gently ran his thumb over the intricate feathers embossed on to its metallic blue front. He had bought it on impulse from a merchant on Palaven, after they had defeated Saren, he had planned to give it to the Commander the next time he saw her; he hung onto it after he heard about the fall of the Normandy, and had been able to give it to her after Omega. He smiled at the memory and tucked the journal into the footlocker and headed down to the shuttles.

The remaining crew of the Normandy stood in a semi-circle by the shuttle and watched sombrely as Liara and Javik used their biotics to help the doctors keep Shepard's cot stable as they moved her into the shuttle. Doctor Chakwas would be accompanying Shepard to the facility with Liara, Vega, Ash and himself. Doctor Michel chose to stay back with Javik, Traynor and the rest of the crew to search for survivors

"Keep me updated, and take care of yourself too Garrus," She fixed him in her stern green eyes.

"Yes Doctor, thank you." He took her hand in his, grateful for her attentiveness, before they closed the shuttle doors.

"All right, everyone buckled up?" Vega called out over his shoulder as he began punching in the coordinates to the island.

"Everyone important is." Ash replied, shooting a grin toward Garrus, who was trying to remain calm. Vega was a good pilot, and there was no reason for him to crash the shuttle into anything…. No reason to sweat.

"Have we raised Spitsbergen yet?" Liara asked from behind them, she had taken up post beside Shepard and intended to keep a biotic shield around her in case they hit any interference.

"Yeah, about twenty minutes ago," Vega replied as they trundled out of the Normandy's airlock. "Spoke to their Chief Medical Officer, there's a snow storm coming in but they're prepped for it, hey, the majority of the base is subterranean you know, like an iceberg."

"Yeah well, just don't go all Titanic on it Vega." Joker's voice rang out over the radio. "Take care of her you guys, we'll be back to check on her."

"We will Joker." Garrus told him, feeling hopeful again, and he felt Liara's hand on his shoulder.

"All right, Joker out."

The shuttle remained quiet for only a minute before Vega started complaining about the lack of conversation, or music at least, before warning them they were about to enter the Earths atmosphere.

Garrus took a moment to glance out the shuttles small window, and tried to hide his shock as they were weaving through a reaper graveyard, he tightened his grip on the railing above his head and tried focused his gaze on Shepard, or on the ECG; the steady, continuous beep of her pulse. Anything but the slowly drifting debris of the reapers; soon the roar of the shuttles thrusters engulfed his thoughts and he closed the panel of the window as the shuttle began forcing its way through the damaged atmosphere.

* * *

_**A/N - Greetings and thank you for reading :) behold the beginnings of a story I have no idea where is taking me. We'll laugh, we'll cry, we'll rise again and conquer? sounds good. I've posted this just in time for "Shakarian Sunday" lol If you think I'm mildly entertaining - or not, leave a review, reviews make my heart happy. This is un-beta'd so far, I just got too excited and have to post like right now, but I have used my green-belt editing skills. Update soon! **_


	2. Part 2

_**A/N - first off, I'm pretty honored by the response FM got from you awesome folks because I edited all by myself! (this story is still up for beta though) Anyhow, I'd like to thank my new followers: Icklenicole, N7 elite, soluswarrior93 and ella11. Thanks for signing up for the journey, I'm not sure where it leads but I'm sure heartbreak will follow. Also a huge thanks to my two lovely reviewers, ella11 and guest 3 you guys rock! Now this chapter just kinda' exists, but I hope you guys enjoy it. I've kinda' just been making some stuff up so please let me know if any made-up headcanons are way off in fact. Enjoy! **_

* * *

Everything seemed to happen in a blur once they landed on Spitsbergen, a sub-arctic island in the throes of winter. Nature was rebelling against the alien traces left by the reapers. The shuttle was caught in a fierce blizzard as they attempted to transfer Shepard into the facility. The human militants were hesitant to let the aliens stay, but Chakwas was able to put the soldiers at ease – would the alien soldiers that served with Commander Shepard in combat _really _come all this way to do her harm?

Garrus waited awkwardly by Shepard's bedside, unsure of what to do, the human doctors seemed so efficient. He smiled down at Shepard, she had remained un-jostled the entire trip – thanks to Liara's impressive mental fortitude.

"If an _Ardat-Yakshi _can keep a swarm of collectors off Shepard, _I _can keep frozen water off her," Liara's tired voice rang out over the din around them. "We don't have to wait until the storm clears."

Garrus couldn't believe that the Chief Medical Officer was still giving the asari hassle over using biotics, humans used biotics. He looked around for Ash or Doctor Chakwas, any friendly human face would have been nice, but they had been lost to the crowd. He could hear Liara growing frustrated with the elderly human; he glanced at Shepard, hesitant to leave her in the shuttle, door wide open, but if he left Liara to deal with the man, he might end up on one of the giant blocks of ice that managed to bob almost serenely in the churning waters off-shore.

"The storm isn't supposed to last more than an hour according to our meteorologists." The man breathed through his mask.

"Listen doctor, we don't have an hours' worth of power on that shuttle if it has to power all those machines," The turian began, drawing himself up to his impressive six and a half foot physique. "You can either let Liara here shield you guys while you bring the commander inside; it'd be like walking to the base on a sunny day." he shivered as the sharp wind caused bits of snow to fall onto his neck plates. "Or you can let Commander Shepard die because you were too afraid of aliens and their supernatural powers to act accordingly." Garrus narrowed his eyes as he held the medical officer in his glare. "Which will it be?"

The man began to sputter but before he could answer the turian, Doctor Chakwas strode toward them, Garrus wondered where she had acquired the fur hat but the doctor still managed to look formidable even with a dead animal on her head.

Flanked by Ash and Vega, the doctor stood before them with an inscrutable look on her face, Garrus thought that _he_ might be in for one of the doctors famous: tongue-lashings.

"What is going on here Lionel?" Chakwas rounded on the medical officer with a fierce glint in her eye. "I thought we had already discussed this?" She placed a hand on her hip, and Garrus exhaled slowly, glad to have the doctor on his side.

"Karin, I wasn't trying to be a pest, just look at the Asari, she's exhausted, don't you think if we wait –"

"Surely Lionel you must be joking, look at it out here." The wind whipped the doctors' coat around her leg, as if to add emphasis to the situation. "Liara is more than capable of escorting us to the facility; I have utmost faith in her."

"Thank you Doctor Chakwas, it's an honour –"

"Silence child, you've been a wealth of knowledge, I'm happy to have met you." The doctor smiled at the asari before turning her cold eyes back to the medical officer. "Now if we are ready to move out Lionel?"

"Uh, yes ma'am," Lionel saluted the woman before heading back to his team by the cot.

"Now Garrus, did you really have to scare the officer?" Chakwas turned to face him, a kind expression on her face, a hint of a smile crinkled on her thin lips. "He was in the first contact war, didn't see much action then, of course, he was a RMS back in those days." The doctor paused for a moment. "His father was injured in hand-to-hand combat with a turian soldier; he never quite forgave aliens for it." A bemused grin spread across her face. "Which is why I laughed when I found out he was in charge of hospital requisitions here…what?" she asked when she saw Liara and Garrus' incredulous looks. "He was a bit of a twat in med school."

Vega couldn't contain his guffaw and Chakwas sent him a silencing look that sent him back to the shuttle. Garrus decided he would join the lieutenant, to oversee Shepard's journey.

Once they were inside Garrus and the other non-medical members of the crew were directed to their living quarters: down on the fourth level of the base; one soldier stayed with them to show them the way around the catacombs. He tried to pay attention as the solider led them deeper into the base, via the dimly lit stairwell.

"These tunnels must be very old." Liara remarked quietly, taking a moment to breathe in the familiar scent of history.

"They're from the… twentieth century I believe," Ash paused, furrowing her brow. "If I remember Ancient Civilizations well enough from school."

"The structuring would say so," Vega added, admiring the arched concrete pillars.

"I didn't know you were a history buff Vega," Ash quipped, glancing back over her shoulder at the stocky lieutenant.

"I like architecture," he replied with an easy shrug. "It's good to know the lay of a building before you blow it into smithereens."

"Did they teach you that in university James?" Garrus asked, attempting to join the conversation; eager to be free of his thoughts.

"No, but – hey, how'd you know I went to school?" Vega turned to face the turian, a confused look on his face.

Garrus shrugged, "I used to be privilege to some pretty high class Intel Vega." He paused trying to read the look on the humans face and was relieved to see a grin spread across the lieutenants' cheerful face.

"Lola." Vega concluded, clapping the turian on the back. "I'm sure you'll be receiving those important docs again ASAP." He finished with a wink before sprinting to catch back up to the alliance soldier, who didn't seem to care for their breezy conversation. All business around this place, though after the majority of your planet was decimated, there wasn't much time for jokes.

Garrus was impressed that the base was un-touched, though given its remote location and the time Earth was under fire, he supposed it was possible for the Reapers to pay less attention to places like this. Hell, the reapers thought they had all the time in the universe to harvest this cycle's organics.

He was glad Shepard had proved them wrong.

At last the tunnel emerged into a cavernous room equipped with a small kitchen and two long wood tables. There were several other tunnels that led to the different dormitories, the soldier explained brusquely, the men would be in "Dorm C" and the women in "Dorm F" signs were above the tunnel entrances. They were to help themselves to food and cooking was done on their own terms. The soldier shrugged apologetically as he told Garrus they had no dextro food on site. Garrus silently thanked Doctor Michel for sending the Normandy's supply of dextro food with them. After they assured the young man they had no questions, he informed them that someone would let them know when the Commander was able to receive visitors, turned smartly on his heel and retreated into the darkness of yet another tunnel.

"Well that was quite the welcome," Liara blurted out, trying to contain her laughter.

"I don't think they're big fans of extra-terrestrials." Ash laughed, coming to stand by Liara. "I remember when having you guys aboard the SR-1 used to freak me out," she bit her lip as she looked straight at the turian. "I mean, I'm sorry Garrus but you look like you're right out of a sci-fi vid, but then I learned you guys are _only human _and that realization was something, that and Shepard pretty much told me to "deal with it."

They all laughed together for a moment, but a heavy silence slowly pressed down on them, and they excused themselves to head down their respective hallways.

Garrus followed James down the dimly lit hallway, they seemed to go on for an eternity, and they didn't do much for decorating down here. A small, wooden door hung in its doorframe, and that served sealed their quarters from the ones adjacent. Garrus tried not to hit his and Shepard's footlockers against the aluminum walls, not wanting to wake the loudly snoring human from across the hall. Once they were in their dorm, he heaved a sigh of relief. The bottom bunk of each bed looked long enough for him to comfortable stretch out.

James laughed, partly at the turian's awkward stance in the stunted bunker, and partly at his own stiff, awkward stance. It wasn't like he was scared of the man; they'd spent enough time together playing cards, but a whole lot had changed since then.

"I call bottom James," Garrus informed the lieutenant and tossed his bags on the closest mattress for affirmation.

"Fine by me Scars, I'm taking the bed by the window." Vega jerked his head toward the only piece of art they had seen since entering the facility: an aged painting of an iceberg.

_How quaint_, Garrus thought, mandibles flickered in distaste, but he left it hanging – a nice distraction from the pale-yellow that was painted across the walls, an attempt to brighten morale he assumed.

He sat down on the bunk and took off his visor, it didn't look like he would need it for a while, and he ground the palms of his hands against his eyes, enjoying the psychedelic interlude for a moment before he began to slowly remove his armour. He spent time rubbing small, tight circles up and down his legs, he didn't remember the last time he lived in armour for over a week, but his legs and feet were cursing him for it. He discarded his armour unceremoniously in a heap by the foot of his bed and hurried to get underneath the blanket. He was glad for the warmth of the small cabin, the frigid cold outside had left him chilled.

"Yo Vakarian, you good with the lights out man?" James called out from his bunk across the room.

Garrus poked his head out from underneath the top bunk to nod his consent and the room went dark. He was thankful for the dark, and waited a moment before reaching under his bunk and pulling out the footlocker. With nimble fingers he opened the locker silently and withdrew a pillow; placing it on the bed with as little noise as possible.

He closed his eyes as he rested his head on the over-stuffed pillow – goose feathers, as Shepard called it, which seemed cruel to him, but she assured him that the feathers were plucked from geese that were already dead. She was always so earnest in her explanations of human customs, her wide eyes would light up, and her voice could become quite melodic as she would ramble on, he never had heart to stop her; he probably couldn't. Her song was the music his heart had been searching for.

He turned his face into her pillow and breathed in her familiar scent; a blend of gunpowder, coconut bath soap and the earthy scent he had come to call his own. It would have to suffice, and he Vega wouldn't pay much notice to a pink and green pillow case – he would have to make sure his bed was made before his roommate woke up.

He tried to shut his mind off, but of course since he was in an actual bed, on a planet – in a planet rather, with real gravity, so much unlike his sleeping pod on the Normandy, so much unlike Shepard's cabin.

Dark thoughts began twisting their way around his consciousness, _his sisters terrified scream pierced the darkness, his father shouting, the reapers landing, and fire. Palaven burning in front of him as he fled with the others to Menae, the screams pulsed in his eardrums, along with the pounding of his heart. _

_Menae. _

_The Reapers chased them there too, more death, screams, prayers to long-forgotten spirits, gunfire and devastating shrieks of the reapers' monsters. _

Garrus shifted his position in bed, and began to recite familiar algorithms, trying to ward off the anxiety that danced at the fringes of his subconscious, taunting him with tainted nightmares; hollow, blue eyes of a husk charging him down – no regard for self-preservation.

_Crawling over the outpost defences in never-ending waves, he didn't know how many he had killed since the invasion. The only reprieve he got was when he overheard her voice over the radio chatter._

_She was alive, and she had come to aid Palaven. _

He forced himself to hold that image of her in his mind, allowing himself to luxuriate in the fervour of that moment.

_The wide smile on her lips, and the quiet relief in the oceans of her eyes, and the formal handshake, he had tried to hide his laughter but they both dissolved into a tiny fit of giggles before their teammates before refining themselves. _

_She held him with warm eyes while Corinthus informed them of the latest update, and he felt peace midst the chaos around them. _

He used that moment of serenity to bar the sinister thoughts that tried to barge through his carefully placed defences. After what seemed an eternity, the soft, gauzy tendrils of sleep finally overtook him and enveloped him in tender darkness.

"_Garrus," _

_He lifted his head from the pillow groggily to see Shepard's crooked grin looming over him. The realization that he was _completely_ naked underneath the blanket became apparent as a very soft, very non-turian leg brushed against his own. _

_The events of the night before came flooding back to him as Shepard began to giggle – he had never heard that sound come from her before. _

"_What's the matter Vakarian, hangover?" Her voice was raspy which gave him a clue that she was also feeling less than a hundred percent. _

"_Hardly," He murmured into her neck as he pulled her onto his chest, pleased to find she was also, completely naked, still. Her tawny skin was so smooth against his own tough skin and hard plating, but her slender index finger trailed lazily across the ridges in his chest. _

"_So I guess you…aren't repulsed by turian anatomy?" he quirked an amused brow plate._

"_Hardly," She mocked him, propping her head up on her elbows, fixing him in her heavy-lidded eyes. "In-fact, last night was the most fun I've had in years – and not just the sex." The corners of her lips tilted up in a grin. _

"_I'm glad you're not using me just for my body," He ran his talons along the soft groove of her spine, pleased to note the shiver of contentment that quivered through her body._

"_You mean the galaxy to me Garrus," her voice grew muffled as she nestled her head under his chin._

"Garrus?"

He jerked his head upward so quickly that he knocked his head on the steel bottom of the top bunk.

"Damn it," he exclaimed, rubbing his forehead tenderly. He blinked his eyes quickly to find Liara standing by his bed. "What is it?"

"The commander has been officially declared stable, and has been moved to a private room, above ground, as we all will be…"Liara paused for a moment, an amused smirk formed on blue lips. "It seems they wanted to keep the aliens contained."

Garrus shook his head at the prejudice, after all Shepard went through…

He decided to focus on the fact that she was in stable condition; a remarkable fact given they had only been here for a few hours.

"That's amazing Liara," he replied, stifling the yawn that threatened to consume his face. "I can't wait to see her, I'll head up right away," his stomach growled ravenously, as if to remind him of its existence. "After some breakfast," he grinned sheepishly. "Do you know if the supplies from the Normandy have been unpacked, or do they expect us _aliens_ to do the unpacking?"

"I don't think the kitchen has a cut-off for breakfast but considering it is 23:15, by earth time, you might want to consider bringing a midnight snack up with you." Liara began to laugh softly at the shocked look on the turian's face when she told him he had been asleep for three days.

"Pick your mandibles up off the floor Garrus, "She chuckled. "You were exhausted; nobody was to wake you unless it was an emergency, doctors' orders."

He narrowed his eyes at the asari but his stomach grumbled again.

"Fine, I believe you Liara, let me get dressed and then you can show me the way to the _actual _kitchen."

"Bring your bags," she called over her shoulder as she left the dingy room.

After finding turian-friendly breakfast materials in the spacious kitchen above ground, he made his way to his new accommodations. The window gave glimpse into an austere painting; dark, harsh lines etched mountains into the soot-spotted snow. Garrus swept his eyes around the comfortable looking room, pleased to find the bed was two sizes larger than the small cot from the underground bunker. The walls were a comforting cocoa colour and a generous armchair was placed diagonally from a dark-stoned fireplace; flanked by a puffy beige loveseat.

_It would appear Doctor Chakwas found out about our living arrangements,_ He smirked to himself as he tossed his bags onto the floor – he had arranged for a young private to have the rest of his and Shepard's things brought to their new cabin. He was going to enjoy this new v.i.p status.

* * *

_**A/N - Me again! *waves* So yeah, that's that. Up next, we do the time-warp ~~ exciting! Also look out for Garrus ice fishing? just a late-night thought turned into doodle, turned into a paragraph? that's all I'm saying. Let me know what ya think, on the chapter, on turian ice-fishing, on my story in gen. ... **_


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